Zann Dynasty
The Zann Dynasty 'is one of the major factions of Perisno. It is unique in that it does not start with any territory (except for the Zann Outpost), in fact at the start of the game it does not exist on the map at all. Instead, the Zann Dynasty invades the map at a random point during the game. It is led by Emperor Zann Mandate of Heaven. Lore (Circa 360) Zann is the bastard child of the god emperor Shang Jin and the uniter and conqueror of the wild steppes of Khergia, massive tribes of Sine and reclusive but powerful island people of Shun-Ha. In his hubris, he launched a campaign against his own father approximately half way into the new era. Five cycles later Zann finds himself fighting a losing war against a father he underestimated. Hearing of the constant turmoil of foreign lands across the sea, he decides his last and only option is to withdraw into Perisno, conquering as he goes. In order to prevent this, Shang Jin sends one of his Black Warriors (his nephew Shi Jin) to warn the Perisnoan Kingdoms of the imminent threat. Zann stays behind with a core group of generals to loot what he can from Nadire before departing. The Jin Empire followed Zann after he invaded Perisno, deciding they needed to be rid of their enemy once and for all. For the Jin this was an easy choice, even if it meant waging war on two fronts. And although the Jin Empire focuses only on destroying the Zann, their war from Khergia, Sine, and Shun-Ha brings devastation to the new land of Perisno and its people. Lesser factions, powerless and weak in comparison, can only watch or flee. The player is the only one that can help the Jin stop the Zann, or, if he chooses, stop them both. Government Lords *Emperor Zann Mandate of Heaven *General Tokugawa *General Sung Wo *General Qin Min *General Hiero *General Chinghis *General Yuan *General Atila Military Strengths * Dangerous hybrid of skilled mounted and foot archers * Unique high-damage weapons for elite spear and longbow troops * Troops are well-equipped to defend against cavalry charges Weaknesses * Elite common and noble troops are susceptible to ranged troops due to lack of shields * Horse archers upgrade to non-ranged heavy cavalry unit * Difficult to train troops through seven tiers * Archers are long reload times compared to other units The Zann Empire's armies are a hybrid of Mongolian/Japanese/Chinese style troops. They have formidable archers, strong horse archers and intimidating infantry. They lack very heavy cavalry but that is their only flaw- they are balanced on all other points. The player will find their style of fighting very different from the average Perisno army and this may be either a good or bad thing. The Zann have a fairly complex troop tree consisting of infantry, cavalry, and archers. Their weakness is in their cavalry, as they do not have any real heavy cavalry. However, their elite spearmen makes up for that one weakness they have. In addition, the Zann have very strong longbowmen wielding Yumi bows that rival the distance and strength of the best Redwood bow. Most of the Zann lords also have incredibly powerful household troops, and wield them in large numbers. Emperor Zann usually has over 200 of his elite Black Warriors in his army. General Tokugawa has Zann Kamikaze Wariors, and General Chingis has his Khesig horse archers. The Zann Dynasty in-depth strategy can be seen here. The Grand War for Perisno The Black Week When the Zann arrive, it's easy to panic. In the first week, which is sometimes referred to as the '"Black Week", not only will the massive army of lords and their spearheads spawn (both can arrive at 400+ men), capable alone of amassing 9000+ men, but also parties of 1000+ men called "Hordes" and plenty of smaller war parties. These parties will rush from the Zann Outpost in the Northern Island to attack every city and castle on the eastern coast, normally aided by the scouting parties present in the zone. It's even easier to panic when the player sees that not even the elves are left untouched - the Zann can even take their capital at times. Soon, the entire coastline of Perisno from Reichberg to Falconwatch may be black unless the player fights like a madman. Holding the Ground The Zann invasion Can Be Stopped. The player must avoid any confrontation on the field, gather every elite unit they have and rush in defence of every city he can. Remember one thing, regular Zann war parties that assault fiefs do not respawn, except for the Hordes. If you destroy them on the battlements of a city, they will not come back again. The initial invasion is massive, but as soon as it's over, the Zann start functioning as a more or less normal faction. Also, factions in war with the Zann never attack someone else unless they were already in war, creating the ideal condition to strike back... or the potential for the player to create his/her own faction. Anyway, the numbers of the Zann won't count too much behind the walls of a castle or city. When the Hordes took over a city, you may notice that suddenly a 800+ garrison spawned "out of nowhere". That's incorrect though, the garrison is in fact the troops from Zann war parties that took the city. So, whether they are pushed back or they conquer the city, they will always lose their precious parties. From this point forward any expansion of the Zann isn't scripted and is left in the (in)capable hands of the AI, who will gather an army like anyone bloody does in Warband, so that the most important battle can take place. The first campaign of the Zann will involve everyone of their Lords with their force basically intact, if we add that the scouting parties in the zone near the besieged settlement will join the siege, this sums up of an army of 9000+ '''men. This will be a decisive engagement for the whole war, destroy their army there and they will never be able to amass this quantity of manpower again. Of course, this is quite risky, but if the garrison is big and filled of enough high-tier units it can be done. But probably enough, after the campaign ends the AI will simply go to visit their fiefs, which can be on the other part of the map, thus ending their momentum. Tactical hints and suggestion will be hinted in the analysis of their troop tree. Some strategical hints: * Take everyone prisoner, screw honour and their personalities: those are 400 men less to fight for a while * Moreover, if a Zannese Lord gets captured or is defeated, his spearheads will immediately stop and stay in stand-by until their lord returns. Meaning of this: 600 men less to fight for a long while, at least until their lord recovers and, if they are far away from the point he respawns at, it can take days for them to be usable again The Perisnoans Strike Back If the Zann army has been defeated, or simply they are visiting their fiefs a stalemate will begin. Now, if you look at the map, you may notice 2 things: * '''1st, not every attacked city has been taken over, some have managed to defend themselves * 2nd and most important, the fiefs of the Zann will be all over the coastline of Perisno. This is a critical strategic weakness, its effects won't wait to show up: * The fiefs that are too distant from the Zann Fort are in fact impossible to defend, like for example any castle in Falconian lands or in the Reich. * By the end of the 2nd week all the holdings will be given to a vassal lord of the Zann, and as long as AI goes they will patrol their personal land and guard it. But the Zann lords are only 7 and they've taken the whole coastline of Perisno. 400 men strong parties will never be fast enough to defend their castle on the other end of the map. * Vassals won't be able to join the marshal's campaign, meaning that either they win or they lose the result will always be a weak 2nd campaign that will amass armies of 2000 men if that's their lucky day. * If you think a 1000 men strong garrison is OP, you should play more Perisno. Most of the castles in-game have that size right at the start and marshal campaigns can easily gather 1500 men. * The attacked factions can still pack a punch even if 2/3 of their territory has been taken over. First of all, landless lords won't hesitate to join the grand campaign to free the land from the invading scum, and even if their castle was far enough from the coast and thus they still have one they will join the marshal campaign regardless, as the amount of space dividing them from the gathering point is now very small. * Remember to bring plenty of ranged units that are decent melee combatants, as the Zann have little to no units that have shields. Elitor and Geldar high level units can have field days when in the right position on the map (for example: a hill/castle wall). This is exceptionally handy as the ranged units of the Zann use very slow ranged weapons STAY STRONG, DON'T LOSE HOPE AND CONTINUE TO FIGHT, BRAVE WARRIOR! SOON, GLORY AND VICTORY SHALL BE YOURS! Category:Factions Category:Zann Dynasty